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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — a coil
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. craft — a skill
  8. land — ground
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — a country
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — a contest
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — of water
  20. drill — army training
  21. craft — boats
  22. fall — the season
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com